High school coach on Phil Jurkovec: 'He has the talent to play' as freshman at Notre Dame

SOUTH BEND — Brian Kelly isn’t averse to starting a true freshmen quarterback. It might not be the ideal scenario for an inexperienced kid — no matter his arm strength or maturity — to come in right away and be expected to lead a team to a winning season, but it’s been done successfully.

Last season, for example, a poised Jake Fromm was thrust into the starting role at Georgia, quickly earned the respect of his team, and took them to the national championship game. The only time a true freshman ever led his team to a title win was Jamelle Holieway in 1985. He took over for an injured Troy Aikman and guided Oklahoma to the Orange Bowl.

But we’re getting a little ahead here.

In South Bend, Kelly isn’t necessarily planning on using — much less starting — a rookie quarterback in the fall. But he has a good one in his arsenal.

Phil Jurkovec, the nation’s No. 4 dual-threat quarterback in the 2018 class, per 247Sports, is finally on campus. The standout from Pine-Richland High School in Gibsonia, Pa. (30 minutes north of Pittsburgh) anchors the best recruiting class Notre Dame has had in the last five years. He’s 6-5, weighs somewhere around 225 pounds these days (up from the 215 he played at his senior year), and has all the tools to lead the Irish. His arrival has been much-anticipated since his commitment in May of his sophomore year. If he doesn’t play this season, coaches are still hoping he pushes Brandon Wimbush for the starting job.

“There’s nothing better than competition to get the best out of players,” said Jurkovec’s high school coach Eric Kasperowicz. “That being said, I think he’s got the talent to (play as a freshman).”

Notre Dame won’t truly know much about Jurkovec, who was not made available for comment, until he faces college players for the first time in an actual game. He’ll have to quickly learn the playbook, become comfortable enough in offensive coordinator Chip Long’s system, and get used to the pace.

Kelly answered a lot of questions about Jurkovec after the high-profile prospect’s letter of intent arrived during last December’s early signing period. The coach confidently stated he wanted the incoming freshman to challenge Wimbush and Ian Book.

“I think he’s the best quarterback in the country,” Kelly said at the time. “He’s somebody that I could put up against any quarterback that I’ve ever seen.”

Notre Dame’s current quarterback situation is the biggest on-field question. Last season, Wimbush completed 51.5 percent of his passes and the Irish sprinted to an 8-1 start, surging as high as No. 3 in the College Football Playoff ranking. Then Wimbush mysteriously only completed 44 percent of his passes in the final four games, which included November road losses to Miami and Stanford, plus a benching in the Citrus Bowl against LSU.

Wimbush has worked hard to fix his accuracy and mechanics this offseason. If he doesn’t get it done though, coaches may look for another option. Book proved to be a capable passer in the bowl game. And Jurkovec will be given an opportunity to compete — if anything, the new redshirt rule allows Kelly to play him four games without losing a year of eligibility.

A lot of great quarterbacks have come from Western Pennsylvania. Joe Montana, Johnny Unitas, Joe Namath are a few. Kelly is interested to see what kind of grit and toughness — two of his favorite qualities — this young quarterback displays. Kasperowicz can already tell you what to expect.

“His mindset is to outwork anybody he comes up against,” Kasperowicz said. “He doesn’t run away from competition. It comes with the territory.”

Jurkovec was a three-year starter at Pine-Richland. Between his sophomore and junior year, he developed his arm strength. From junior to senior year, he grew from a lanky kid into an athletic one.

Named Pennsylvania’s Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior, he finished his career with a single-season state record for yardage (5,180) and his 11,144 yards are the second-most in WPIAL history (that’s despite missing half his junior season with an injured thumb). Jurkovec completed 73 percent of his passes as a senior, throwing for more than 3,000 yards and rushing for over 1,000, while leading the Rams to a 16-0 record and a state title.

He had offers from countless Power Five programs including Alabama, Penn State and Ohio State, but was the first member of Notre Dame’s 2018 class to commit and he never wavered.

Kasperowicz believes Jurkovec's competitiveness will separate him in Notre Dame’s quarterback room. His favorite example was junior year when Jurkovec played against Pine-Richland’s biggest rival, Central Catholic, with a torn ligament in his thumb. The Rams lost and Jurkovec was out the rest of the season, but he still finished that game with 423 yards of offense — 335 yards passing, 94 rushing.

Off the field, Kasperowicz describes Jurkovec as a humble and “down to earth” kid. They’ve worked on his vocal skills and it has helped him grow into a stronger leader, but when it comes down to it, he’s fairly reserved.

“You could meet him and wouldn’t know if he’s the clerk at the school bookstore or the quarterback at Notre Dame,” Kasperowicz said.

“But he leaves it all out there. He understands where he might have some weaknesses in his game, but all the intangibles, that’s where he gets you.”